


We Are All Ensnared

by tehhumi



Series: wakened into song [2]
Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: M/M, Not!Fic, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-25 22:34:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21363742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehhumi/pseuds/tehhumi
Summary: A collection of songs about Curufin and Finrod, and my thoughts on why they fit.
Relationships: Curufin | Curufinwë/Finrod Felagund | Findaráto
Series: wakened into song [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1540156
Kudos: 2





	1. City With No Children

**Author's Note:**

> “City With No Children” by The Arcade Fire as a duet between Curufin and Finrod
> 
> If there was a movie of the Silmarillion and I knew how to make fanvids, this would be a fanvid. It doesn’t, so the lyrics have who is singing in {brackets} at the start of the lines and what footage I would put it to in (parentheses) after each line

{Finrod:} The summer that I broke my arm  
I waited for your letter _(Teenage Finrod in Alqualonde writing a multi-page letter; the bay with ships can be seen out the window)_  
I have no feeling for you now  
Now that I know you better _(Teenage Curufin making technical drawings on the back of Finrod’s letter)_

{Finrod:} I wish that I could have loved you then _(Curufin & Finrod talking together in downtown Tirion)_  
Before our age was through _(the same location, but now lit by torchlight)_  
And before a world war does with us _(Curufin fighting orcs in the mountains)  
_Whatever it will do _(Finrod fighting orcs in a swamp)_

{Curufin:} Dreamt I drove home to Houston  
On a highway that was underground _(Finrod retreating with his soldiers south though the Pass of Sirion)_  
There was no light that we could see _(Celegorm and Curufin leading their people in the shadow of Nan Dungortheb after the Dagor Bragollach)_  
As we listened to the sound of the engine failing _(a newly-built cairn on the edge of the forest as Celegorm and Curufin continue on)_

{Duet:} I feel like I’ve been living in  
A city with no children in it  
A garden left for ruin by a millionaire inside  
Of a private prison _(day to day scenes in Nargothrond, the city half-empty while the soldiers are at war)_

{Finrod:} You never trust a millionaire  
Quoting the sermon on the mount _(Thingol announcing the Noldor may live in some of Beleriand, but never in Doriath itself)_  
I used to think I was not like them _(Finrod opening the gates for Celegorm and Curufin with the refugees from Himlad)_  
But I’m beginning to have my doubts  
My doubts about it _(Finrod, impeccably dressed and wearing the Nauglamir, greeting a very bedraggled Beren)_

{Curufin:} When you’re hiding underground _(Pretty green fields around Nargothrond)_  
The rain can’t get you wet_ (Curufin fighting in a skirmish in Himlad)_  
Do you think your righteousness  
Can pay the interest on your debt? _(Finrod on the Helcaraxe)_  
I have my doubts about it _(Finrod falls in the duel against Sauron)_

{Duet:} I feel like I’ve been living in  
A city with no children in it  
A garden left for ruin by a millionaire inside  
Of a private prison _(day to day scenes in Nargothrond, there are more people now but the atmosphere is tense)_

{Curufin:} I feel like I’ve been living in  
A city with no children in it _(Celebrimbor walking away from his father)_  
A garden left for ruin by and by _(fields around Nargothrond lie untended as Celegorm and Curufin restrict movement after their takeover)_  
As I hide inside  
Of my private prison_ (Curufin on the throne in an empty hall)_


	2. This Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “This Life” by Vampire Weekend fits these two wonderfully.

First verse: _“Baby, I know dreams tend to crumble at extremes / I just thought our dream would last a little bit longer.”_ Finrod knew that terrible things were happening outside, but nothing can get to Nargothrond - until Beren comes by and both their Oaths are the “_line down in the sand_” they won’t compromise on. 

Chorus: _"I've been cheating on, cheating on you / You've been cheating on me / But I've been cheating through this life and all its suffering"_ I think this is fairly clear. Neither of them is willing to admit this is anything emotionally meaningful so they keep faux-casually mentioning their other lovers. Also they avoid consequences (of the war for Finrod, of sending Finrod to die alone for Curufin) for impressively long. 

Second verse: _“war is how we landed on these shores / I just thought the drums of war beat louder warnings” _Look, I don’t really trust you given Alqualonde and Losgar, but maybe you’ve grown into a better person since then? And if not, surely there will be at least as much notice as last time if you decide to stab me in the back?

Third verse: 1) “_I know death probably hasn’t happened yet / ‘Cause I don’t remember living life before this.” _ The whole elven reincarnation/resurrection thing. 2) _our disease is the same one as the trees / Unaware that they’ve been living in a forest._ Curufin and Finrod both definitely considered themselves the Protagonist of their own story, nobly fulfilling their Oath to [the man who died to save his life | his father on his freaking deathbed], despite everyone else opposing them. They are completely unaware that anyone else could ever have a similar motivation, and the idea that Beren might be the protagonist of _his_ own story never occurs to either of them.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone is inspired to make fic, fanart, recording, etc. of this, you have my full permission and undying appreciation.


End file.
